Lemon of Troy

"Lemon of Troy" is the twenty-fourth and penultimate episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons.

Bart leads Milhouse, Nelson, Martin, Todd and Database to Shelbyville to find the tree and return it to Springfield.

The fathers and sons demand their tree be returned, but the owner of the impound lot taunts them and refuses to surrender it.

When night falls, the Springfield men and boys emerge from the RV and tie the lemon tree to its top.

In Shelbyville, an old man makes up a story about the tree being haunted to cover the embarrassment of losing to their rivals in Springfield.

[3] Early on in the production stage, the writers decided that the leader of the Shelbyville children, Shelby, and his father should be modeled after Bart and Homer.

[4] The overall plot structure of Springfield residents attacking their neighboring rivals after they steal their prize possession is a reference to the legend of the Trojan War, in which the incentive for the Greeks declaring war on their Trojan neighbors is the abduction of their most famous and beautiful female citizen, Helen; the title of the episode is a play on her name.

The scene where Milhouse envisions himself using his camouflage clothing to taunt the Shelbyville kids, leaving only his smile and glasses visible, references the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland.

[3] Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, said there was "some nice ideas in this episode—Bart and his chums all have near-doubles in Shelbyville—but this is a strangely pedestrian outing, and seems hidden away—wisely—at this point in the season.

Club, David Sims writes that "The 'rival opposite town' is a TV trope that feels very standard at this point, so it’s hard to remember that The Simpsons pretty much invented it.